Bruised
by Pyro92689
Summary: Alexandra Singleton needs a home, Draco Malfoy's got one. Hermione needs a rebound from a painful ending with Ron, Harry's only too happy to oblige. So everyone's happy, right? Wrong.
1. Alexandra Singleton Picks a Side

Hey everyone! Enjoy!

SUMMARY: It's approximately three months after Dumbledore's burial, and Harry has paid his last respects to Privet Drive and the Dursleys. He decides that he needs a home to live in, and so buys a flat in Muggle London, disguising his name and his appearance and effectively disappearing from the Wizarding World as he plans his search for the Hor-Cruxes, doing research at night and searching during the days. He has a desk job for an accounting firm that turns its head the other way when he comes in late or disappears for days at a time, knowing that the job barely pays over minimum wage as is, and all the work still gets done. Harry overworks himself, trying to forget the girl who made him truly happy that he avoided so entirely during Bill and Fleur's wedding. When not burying himself in work, he searches for comfort in anyone and anything that he can find. In short, Harry Potter is so wrapped up in searches for Voldemort that he has almost forgotten to love.

Hermione, meanwhile, hopes that her parents will not be hurt if she stays far away from them, and shares the flat with Harry. She also disguises her name and appearance during the day, and has a job with a high-flying law firm, having learned enough to pass the bar in two months and impressing considerably during her application. At first, she kept in close contact with Ron, who stays at the Burrow, but lately she has broken off correspondence, horribly depressed, because Ron wrote to tell her of one of Fred and George's new assistants he's now seeing. Hermione had cried for a solid week, and as a result, Harry had suspended his search for that week and comforted her. Something, then, had sparked between them, and when Hermione had stopped screaming and crying one night, and Harry was too tired think straight in any case, he had kissed her without thinking.

Ron and Ginny, both unaware of the emotional turmoil in Harry and Hermione's flat, stay at the Burrow. Ginny, desperate for a rebound from Harry and a way to make him jealous, has a new boyfriend as well, but one that she doesn't care about much. She writes to Hermione, however, glowing letters about how well they're hitting it off, which buries Harry further in his search and work.

Malfoy and Snape, however, have both taken refuge at Malfoy Manor, awaiting Voldemort's next orders. Draco is terrified of the Dark Lord's revenge for having failed his master, but knows nowhere else to go. Snape, having done what he swore to do, decides to stay with Draco in the hope that he can train the boy and strengthen him to complete the next task by the Dark Lord, which would most likely be far worse even than the previous of killing Dumbledore.

Two weeks after Harry and Hermione's awkward kiss, never mentioned again, we begin

our story with a new girl and my personal favorite, Mr. Draco Malfoy.

Bruised

By Pyro92689

Chapter 1– Alexandra Singleton Picks a Side

_Alexandra Singleton_ was intensely confused. It was a fairly normal occurrence as of late, and one that most likely resulted from the fact that Voldemort had killed both her parents a few weeks ago, leaving her old enough to fend for herself, but bewildered as to why her parents had to die. Both of them were Purebloods, both of them supported Voldemort's cause wholeheartedly, and both of them had been casually killed one evening while Alex had gone to her friend's house for dinner. At first, she had cried quite a bit, and asked anyone who would listen, of the Death Eaters, why the Dark Lord had chosen to kill her parents at this particular time. All of them simply told her that they must have made a mistake or shown some sign of disloyalty. The only possible explanation was that her parents had spoken openly about how they disagreed with the death of Albus Dumbledore. Alex remembered meeting him once and finding him extremely offbeat, and undoubtedly an immensely powerful wizard, but he seemed like a nice man. He certainly didn't deserve to be backstabbed by his Potions Master.

Alex stood outside Malfoy Manor, holding the slip of paper in her hand that said simply, _I can help you. Stare at this piece of paper and say, "Malfoy Manor". _She had done so, and immediately found herself standing outside the largest mansion she had ever seen. It looked more like a palace than anything else, except palaces were usually made of some soft, beautiful color and looked glitzy. Malfoy Manor was dark and intense. Why on earth was she sent to Malfoy Manor? She knew Draco, of course, by sight at least. His father was in Azkaban, and his mother was insane, but he seemed like a nice enough boy. She had seen him at various functions among the families of the Death Eaters, but only spoken to him once or twice. Alex supposed that the note was from him, and that he would offer her shelter. Considering that her house had been burned down in the process of her parents' death, shelter anywhere was welcome. Hell, she'd go to Harry Potter's house and beg if it came right down to it. Anything for a roof over her head.

Without warning, the gate swung open, and Alex carefully walked through and up the long walk to the huge, magnificent mansion. When she reached the gargantuan front doors, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted the huge knocker. The deep booms resonated throughout the building, and after a moment, Draco himself opened the door. "Hello, Alexandra," he said softly.

The first thing Alex noticed was how bone-tired he looked. His usually perfect hair was shaggy and left untended. His collar was partially turned down, and his black pants were wrinkled. Most striking of all were his grey eyes, which now had deep purple circles under them, and the characteristic smirk that his lips barely even hinted at anymore. He leaned on the door, as if trying to gather up the strength to walk again, and then jerked his head. "Well, come inside."

Obediently, Alex followed him inside. He hurriedly shut the door and locked it, as well as murmuring an incantation, undoubtedly for extra security. The blonde master of Malfoy Manor started to walk further into the home, past the spacious entrance hall, oddly illuminated by lamps that cast strange shadows on the stone they walked upon. Alex stopped and folded her arms over her chest abruptly. "Draco Malfoy, I'm not going a step further until you tell me why I'm here."

Draco whirled, his grey eyes boring into hers. They stared at each other for a minute before he relented and said, "Please, Alexandra–"

"Alex!" she interjected.

"Very well, Alex. Please follow me into the sitting room, where you have my word that I'll explain everything."

She smirked slightly. "The current gossip is that your word isn't worth anything these days."

"Look," Draco snapped, his voice taking on a tinge of irritation for the first time, "You trusted me enough to get this far, and I haven't hurt you yet. Either you can stay here and irritate my family, or you can follow me into the sitting room so I can make my proposition."

Once again they simply stood there, the tall blonde girl staring up at the even taller blonde boy, daring him to back down. Finally her blue eyes broke away from his, and she muttered. "I'm sorry I insulted your family. I'll come to the sitting room with you now."

"All right," he said calmly, as if he hadn't just looked like he would murder her gladly.

Alex, at 16, was still bewildered as to why Malfoy would want her there. She was home schooled and quite good at hexes, but she had no real talent to offer him. And if he tried to make her a Death Eater, she might jinx him on the spot. Or she might kiss him and tell him that was what she always wanted. At the moment, Alex really had no idea if she wanted to be one or not. Her parents had brought her up to hate Muggles and Mudbloods and blood traitors, and she did, but those same parents had just been killed by the man they looked up to most. Surely she wanted to kill Voldemort for killing her parents?

They reached a smaller room, with cushy velvet chairs. Alex sat down without invitation in one of them, and Draco sat across from her. He smirked as she settled in her chair and nearly fell out of it in her haste to straighten her skirt, but otherwise his face showed no emotion. Once she was settled, he spoke firmly. "Alex, you're here because you need a home, and I can give you one. But I am asking rather a lot in return for room and board." He took a deep breath. "I need protection from the Dark Lord, as he is most displeased with me. I rather think that's why Snape left the house. He figured it was safer to beg a home off someone else than stay in such a tainted house. You're pretty good at hexes and jinxes, so you'll be able to protect yourself if he attacks us. I'm hoping, however, that you'll be more useful doing something else for me. Quite simply, if I can take out Hermione Granger or the younger Weasleys, Ron and Ginny, the Dark Lord will accept me back with open arms. He did not give me that task– the Dark Lord would not speak to me or have any contact with me, but it is clear that if I can take out someone very close to Potter, I can save myself." He paused, looking into her eyes to see how she reacted to this news. "The problem is not finding them– I know where they are– the problem is that I simply cannot bring myself to kill them. I need you to become their friend and see if you can figure out a way to make one or more of them... disappear. They do not need to die– if it appears that they have died, it will be enough."

"You can't kill any of them?" Alex asked cooly, looking him over skeptically. "It seems like you have plenty of reasons to hate Potter, and they're the easy road right to him. Why on Earth can't you kill them?"

Malfoy looked ashamed. "I just can't, Alex. I could hex any of them to oblivion, hurt them horribly and torture them until they're insane, but I can't bring myself to kill."

When he finally met her eyes after staring at his shoes for a long time, he saw that she was smiling. "I'm glad to hear you say that," she said gently. "That's what separates you from the other Death Eaters, isn't it? You can't bear to really end someone's life."

He nodded slowly, embarassed at how intense this talk was getting, and wishing she'd just agree one way or another so that he could leave her for awhile. Alex nodded as well, and then added, "I have a better plan than making them disappear. Take them as hostages and hold them over Potter's head. Tell the Dark Lord when you have them, and then have him lying in wait for Potter. It's gonna take me awhile to befriend them, though," she whispered. "Hey," she whispered, suddenly remembering something. "Potter needs a rebound, doesn't he?"

"What?" Draco asked, honestly confused.

"I'll seduce Harry Potter, and make the little Weasley girl he dated so jealous she challenges me to a duel. I'll name the place, and it'll just happen to be the place where you'll be waiting to ask her a few questions about why Potter keeps disappearing from his home for days at a time."

Draco's jaw dropped, and then he slowly began to smile, and then laugh. "Alex, you know way too much for your own good."

She smiled winningly. "I know I do. So can I stay, or what?"

Draco nodded and stood up slowly. "I'll show you your room."

Harry Potter walked into his shared flat with a large bag of groceries in his arms, having apparated to the outside of the door, but wishing to give Hermione warning that he was home. As he walked in, his breath caught in his throat. Hermione was standing in the living room that was just past the kitchen in a long evening gown. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and she was levitating a mirror with one hand and applying make-up with the other. She looked up as he walked in the door. "Oh, hi Harry. I was just..." her cheeks flamed deep crimson when she noticed the look on his face.

Harry was looking her over, inch by inch, having carefully set down the groceries on the kitchen counter. His green eyes lingered at the low neckline and fancy heels. "Where are you going?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Of all the things he had expected after a long day of catching up on a month's worth of accounting business, Hermione in an evening gown that she looked absolutely stunning in was definitely low on the list.

"Nowhere," she squeaked, her voice higher than usual and rather frightened. "Ginny and Ron invited us to come to a little party next week, and I was trying out this new dress."

Harry hurriedly yanked his mind, which was now imagining her offering to take it off right then and there (to change, of course, he mentally added hurriedly)– she had obviously changed here in the first place, he noted, seeing the business clothes draped over the couch. "Well," he said after a moment longer of staring. "You look quite nice in it," he said in a decidedly friendly voice.

God, she looked perfect. Why the hell did Ron get such beautiful girls to fall for him left and right? Not that Ginny wasn't gorgeous... no, mustn't think of Ginny...

If it was possible, she blushed even deeper, and, gathering up her other clothes, she quickly disappeared into her bedroom. Harry tried to busy himself with putting away the groceries and getting things ready for dinner, but his hands kept shaking. She was absolutely stunning, and of course he'd noticed it before, he'd noticed it when she'd been crying, how pretty she looked even when sobbing her eyes out.

Hermione's heart was pounding; she had the sense to know the look Harry gave her. It was an almost animal look that clearly stated his intentions, and they weren't exactly loyal to his best friend. Of course, Harry had been so understanding when Ron had broken her heart like that. He had taken her on little excursions, walking in the park and even gotten them both into a bar once. Most importantly, however, he had listened to her when she needed to rant and let her get it all out. She knew it tortured him to see his two best friends this torn apart, but didn't know how else to deal with Ron saying he loved her one day and then dating a little blonde whore the next. Sighing, and hurriedly quashing the desire to just walk up to Harry and snog him senseless because she knew she wouldn't be here without him... and there was no doubt that he was gorgeous... she pulled on jeans and a sweater, leaving her hair carefully piled on her head.

She returned to the kitchen to find Harry on the phone, ordering pizza. So much for any kind of romantic dinner. Hermione tried not to shiver when he turned his smile on her, mouthing, "Just a second," and busied herself with whipping together a salad.

Harry thanked the man and hung up the phone, leaving a ringing silence in its wake. "Umm..." Harry said, "Do I need a tux or anything for the party?"

"I think a s-suit will be just fine," Hermione said, annoyed that her voice was suddenly quavering.

Even when he was tired and harassed-looking, Harry looked good. She knew that when he spoke now, it had the same glint of nerves he did. They had been sharing a flat for nearly two months now, but ever since their kiss (why had he kissed her, she still wondered. Was it something in the wine they'd tasted earlier?) they had both looked at each other differently. The tension, the emotional strain in their flat was nearly tangible.

For a moment, neither said nothing, and then Harry asked Hermione about work, and the feeling in the room gradually relaxed as they talked about normal things again. The pizza came again and was eaten, and then Harry and Hermione settled down in front of the TV, watching the news. Generally Hermione curled up on one end of the couch and read the paper, while Harry sat on the other, reading through ancient texts, or sat in the kitchen and made phone calls. Tonight, however, Hermione sat next to him, and they watched the news together, sitting close enough that Hermione's leg occasionally brushed his, sending rushes of heat up both of them, and causing Hermione to blush faintly.

Hermione was now deliberately playing to the fact that Harry obviously found her attractive. She touched and bumped him unnecessarily as she reached for various objects. Finally, after getting her coffee, she slumped onto the sofa in such a way that she almost lost her balance and fell against his chest. This time, she felt strong hands grab her shoulders gently and sit her back upright. Harry abruptly switched off the TV and cupped her chin in one hand. "Hermione, I know what you're doing."

She shrugged. "You haven't exactly stopped me, have you? Or led me to believe that it isn't what you want?"

"It is what I want, that's the whole problem!" said Harry, exasperated. "You can't keep torturing me like this or I'm going to break."

"Ron's with someone else," she said firmly. "This isn't immoral at all. Besides, we haven't done anything..."

"Don't pretend that kiss didn't happen, Hermione!"

"Well, why exactly did you kiss me?" Hermione demanded hotly.

Harry blushed dully and looked down. "I– I couldn't help it. You looked so beautiful right then and there, and I just couldn't stop myself."

She nodded slowly. "All right then."

"All right, what?" Harry asked suspiciously, still with his hand gently on her face.

Without warning, she took his hand and moved it from her face to the back of her neck. Understanding completely, he bent his head down and kissed her. After a moment, they broke apart. "Still interested?" Hermione asked.

He nodded, unable to speak. "What will Ron say when we come to the party together?" he asked, finally, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I'd say he'll be fairly jealous," said Hermione, with a similar smile.

"So let me get this straight," Harry said slowly. "You want to go out because we both desperately need some way to let it all out–"

"Release emotional frustrations–" supplied Hermione.

"Yeah, and so you can make Ron realize just how much he cares about you?"

Hermione nodded. "Harry, this doesn't do a whole lot for you..."

"I know, but I'm not much of a guy to date."

When she raised an eyebrow in question, he added, "Because I could disappear one day and never come back. I run a far higher risk of death than the average guy you'll date, and I don't even have time to go on any real dates, and I disappear for days at a time without telling anyone where I go so if you don't know you can't get the answer tortured out of you and..."

She shushed him gently. "I know, Harry. So even if we don't love each other, at least we both know exactly what we're getting."

"Yeah," he said, and then kissed her again, taking his time on this one and deepening it when he felt Hermione kissing him back.

When they broke apart, Harry turned the TV back on with a grin, and wrapped his arm around her. "Why don't we watch a TV show or something for once? Take a break from work."

"That sounds fabulous," Hermione replied, snuggling contentedly into his chest.

END OF CHAPTER 1. So... what do you think?

See you in Chapter 2, A Visitor and What Could Have Been a Hor-Crux


	2. A Visitor and a Horcrux

Chapter 2- A Visitor and What Could Have Been a Hor-Crux

Alex opened her eyes slowly, savoring the feeling of a warm, soft bed. They felt infinitely better than park benches, that was a given. She finally opened her eyes completely and waited as the room swam into focus lazily. When she heard a knock on her door, she hurriedly clutched the sheets back over her loaned nightdress of Narcissa's– she had been carted off to St. Mungo's a few days ago, Draco told Alex last night– and called out tentatively, "Come in."

A small house-elf carting an enormous breakfast tray scooted into the room and looked up at her nervously. "Does this breakfast please Mistress?"

"Breakfast in bed!" Alex squealed excitedly. "I haven't gotten this in weeks!"

She suddenly seemed to remember that the house elf was there. "Oh. Yes." The blonde teenager picked up the tray and put it on her lap, before beginning to eat. As the house elf bowed its way out of the room, she called back in a small voice, "Thank you."

The tiny creature kept walking, but unbeknownst to Alex, tears of gratitude filled its eyes. No one had ever _thanked_ him before.

As she was finishing up, the same elf walked back into the room as if it knew she was finished, and offered to take the tray away. She smiled and nodded, for her breath had caught in her throat. There stood Draco, looking absolutely perfect in his dark robes. The shadows seemed to have been concealed magically, taking away the blank look from his eyes, and his hair was nicely combed. "I'm leaving," he announced. "I have some business affairs to deal with regarding the manor, Alex. Will you be all right here today?"

He still had not even looked at her, leaning against the doorway and staring at a point about three inches to the left of her head. Alex hurriedly stopped staring, feeling suddenly inadequate in the nightgown and with no make up. Her hair was uncombed and ratty, and she still looked half-asleep. She pulled the covers up firmly and said softly, "Y-Yes. I'll be fine."

Draco nodded and started to walk away. "I'll be home around noon," he called back. "Umm, and don't go up to my father's section of the manor. It's got some nasty tricks for intruders."

Now that the newly groomed, handsome Draco was gone, Alex felt considerably braver, and managed to call back, "Oh, so is that why your face is so disfigured?"

The young master of Malfoy Manor, with his father firmly in Azkaban, smiled in spite of himself. "You're not a morning person, are you?" he called back.

Then, with a swish of his robe, he swept down the stairs and out of the manor. He had not left his home in weeks, but this girl had given him a new amount of bravery that he didn't know was there. There was work to do, but the man in charge of the Malfoy estate had been waiting for weeks, afraid to enter Malfoy Manor, believing that Draco would never have the gumption to come to him. He was politely surprised to see Draco sweep into his office and ask what he could do to help.

Alex, meanwhile, leaned back on her pillows and grinned. It was going to be amazing, living with Draco... but she had a mission to carry out before too long. Alex decided to make the absolute best of the time she had with the charming and WEALTHY Malfoy boy. Okay, maybe not that charming. But definitely wealthy.

Alex reluctantly swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got out of it. She dreamily twirled around in her nightdress, pretending it was a ball gown. She curtsied to an imaginary Draco and took his hand, waltzing around her bedroom, humming to herself. A banging on the downstairs doors woke her out of her trance. She hurriedly yelled into the house, "Somebody get that, and if you recognize the person, let them in and tell them I'll be right down."

She hurriedly pulled on more of Narcissa's clothes– a nice day dress– and transfigured it into jeans and a nice top. Brushing her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail, and deciding to scrap the makeup idea, she rushed down the stairs to see that the house elves had indeed let in the visitor: Severus Snape.

Her eyes widened at first, and she almost ran back upstairs. Then she took a deep breath. "Mr. Snape," (remember, she never had him as a professor), "what can I do for you?"

He said nothing for a moment, seemingly in shock to find her here. "I'm sorry about your parents," Snape said softly, though his eyes made it clear that he was not at all sorry.

"What do you need from Draco?" she demanded a second time. "He's not here right now, but you can wait for him if you want."

Snape nodded, and Alex sighed inwardly. She had never been very good at playing hostess, especially not in other peoples' houses. "Miss Singleton," he said very quietly. "I need your help convincing Draco to allow me to stay here with him."

"You disappeared when he needed protection the most, just to save yourself," Alex said cooly, looking him over with a hint of distaste.

Snape's oily hair was in his eyes so that she could not see his expression. However, Alex did notice that he was thinner and seemed as bone tired as Draco. If working for the Dark Lord tired everyone out this much, she was not really sure she wanted to work for this side. Of course, the mortality rate on the other side was much higher. The damn fools never killed anybody, no matter how much it would help their cause.

Alex nodded slowly. "I'll help you."

He smiled in thanks, and sat down in a plush armchair that she motioned him into. Without opening her mouth to ask, a house elf appeared at her elbow. "Get Mr. Snape a drink please," she said to the elf.

Snape raised an eyebrow when he heard the word 'please' but simply leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "Brandy," he ordered, and dismissed the elf with a wave of a hand.

Alex excused herself when the elf returned with brandy and went to put on some makeup. Severus Snape watched her leave, an unfathomable expression on his face. Why had Draco invited her to his house? What possible purpose could she serve? Perhaps it was because they were so alike in situation, he mused. Both had their parents effectively out of their reach, and both were not all that bothered by this fact. Both were intelligent and self-sufficient, but there the similarities ended. Draco refused to pour his heart and soul into anything for fear of getting burned, and kept himself firmly grounded in reality. Alex obviously seemed to be a dreamer, and he was willing to bet that if she was to find a cause that interested her, she would invest in it with every ounce of her being. Both subjects of his thoughts re-entered the sitting room at the same time. Draco's grey eyes turned nearly black with fury. "You let him in?" he asked, his voice shaking, as he turned on Alex. "After all I told you about him last night?"

"Draco, he doesn't have anywhere to go," Alex said simply. "He's on your side, and he can protect you."

"I don't need his protection!" Draco fumed, but he was weakening.

Alex seemed to notice this, and did not press her advantage. She simply stood there and watched him think it over, her beautiful blue eyes calm and patient. Finally, he snapped, "All right, Snape, you can stay."

Severus Snape smirked slightly as he watched the tormented teen finally do as Alex told him to. It would be very useful to get the girl on his side. It was obvious that she exercised more than a little control over Draco Malfoy.

Alex also noted that he did as she asked as long as it seemed reasonable. "Well, I'll just let you two catch up," she said with a soft smile.

The two men were glaring daggers at each other, but Alex serenely glided out of the room and back to her bedroom. She decided to take a self-guided tour of Malfoy Manor while the two caught up, since this would be her home for the next few days, if not weeks, depending on how fast Draco tried to kick her out of the house. Drawing her wand, Alex slowly began to wander around the house, peeking in each room. She found a glorious library that she knew she had to return to later, and several well-furnished bedrooms. Following her instincts, she opened the last door on the second floor and found it locked. Whispering "Alohomora" had no effect, but Alex wanted desperately to get into that room. That it was locked only made it more intriguing. Putting all of her strength into it, she commanded, "Alohomora" a second time, and the lock clicked.

With a smile, Alex opened the door and saw a set of red-carpeted stairs. This, she knew, had to be the entrance to Lucius' secret wing. Deciding that Draco had something she obviously shouldn't see in there, but that it probably was not horribly dangerous, she kept her wand out and walked up the stairs. When she was about half-way up, the rooms above her illuminated, and she almost ran up the rest of them. Right by the stairs was a desk with papers strewn all over it, but that was not what interested her. All over the place, very dusty because no house elves were allowed up, were scattered various artifacts of questionable virtue. She recognized some objects as rather dangerous and decided not to touch anything. Something hidden in the very corner, however, caught her eye. It was a snowglobe, like those she had seen in Muggle store windows when she chose to prowl London. Inside, amid the snowflakes, she clearly saw a glowing orb, shining with dark blue lights. On the outside of the globe, on the golden platform under the glass, she saw a tiny inscribed "R". "Ravenclaw," she whispered. "This must be Ravenclaw's Orb." She remembered hearing about it, but her mind was going sleepily blank as she stared at the dark blue lights.

It was a stress reducer, she remembered, as she slowly sank to the floor, mesmerized. If you stared at it long enough, it would totally relax you. For someone with as much to worry about, and as great a mind as Ravenclaw's, simply clearing her mind would have been far too difficult. But why does Lucius Malfoy have it? She wondered silently. As she started to break off eye contact, unwilling to let her thoughts rush back to her, a hand gripped her shoulder, hard, and a voice growled, "What did I tell you about my father's wing?"

"It's dangerous, don't go there," she said in a sing-song voice, whirling to face a livid Draco Malfoy. "Honestly, Draco, if you hadn't told me about it and how dangerous it was, I wouldn't have come up here. And what exactly are you trying to hide up here, anyways?"

"What you were staring at," he said, his voice dangerously soft as his furious grey eyes met her glorious blue.

"Is that really Ravenclaw's Orb?" she asked.

The fury in Draco's eyes was diminishing as he saw that she was simply curious. He had panicked when he noticed that the door to his father's wing was open, thinking that she was actually an Auror or something that had taken Polyjuice, and come to steal the Orb. "Yes, it is," he replied, searching her eyes for something else now. Or maybe he just wanted to look in her eyes again.

The aforementioned eyes widened. "When the Ministry raided your house, why didn't they take that?"

"It's not Dark, it's not dangerous, they have no right to take it," Draco said, a small smirk on his face.

She smiled in appreciation of this logic, and then stood up slowly, almost stumbling as she realized how stiff her legs were. Draco caught her and helped her straighten up, noticing how much smaller she was than him. He had at least six inches on her small frame, perhaps more. Alex held onto his arms until she was steady, and then released him, smiling into his eyes. "Thanks," she whispered. Her voice had heat in it now, and Draco knew she was feeling exactly what he was feeling.

With an effort, he broke eye contact. Feelings for anyone were too dangerous. Attachment led to disaster, everyone knew that. Alex, however, seemed to have a different philosophy, for when they got to the bottom of the stairs, she told him gently, "I'm going to rest in my room for awhile."

He nodded, and then she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before sauntering away. He rubbed his cheek where she'd kissed it and called, "You'll be coming for tea, right?"

She waved a hand in acknowledgment and disappeared into her room. Alexandra Singleton knew that Draco felt the chemistry too, and decided that if it was the last thing she did, she was going to get him to admit that he felt it. One way or another, he'd realize that a torrid love affair with his houseguest was not only something straight out of all the sappy stories Alex loved to hear, but also very exciting and fun to live it out. Once he could admit that he thought she was gorgeous and charming, the fun could really begin. Alex hummed to herself as she chose what to wear for dinner, deciding to skip tea and make him wait. Before she pulled out a book to relax for the rest of the afternoon, she curtsied one more time in front of the long mirror.

And that's it for Chapter 2.

Stay tuned for Chapter 3, Less-Than-Dreamy Love Lives. R/R please! I appreciate your advice.


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